


Cloaking

by analyticalAuthor



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Earth-2, Eventual Smut, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-04 18:50:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10996848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/analyticalAuthor/pseuds/analyticalAuthor
Summary: (It's a working title, I'd love suggestions.)You had always felt figuratively invisible, until one day you became literally invisible. Not having anywhere else to turn, you ask Dr. Harrison Wells (Earth-2) to help you.





	1. First Meeting

You were just a regular human being for most of your life. You would go to school, then you would go to college, then to work. You had family and friends. You had acquaintances. Mostly, you had acquaintances. Mostly, those acquaintances and you had mutual friends. Often, those friends would invite you to hang out with them, and often, some of those acquaintances would be there when you did. Those nights, among those groups, you were invisible. Figuratively. Until one day, you were literally invisible.

You hadn’t noticed at first. You’d been just holding your drink, watching a drunken man stumble toward the restrooms, when the group decided it was time to leave. The group always said their goodbyes before leaving. You’d walked out to the cars, when one of your friends realized you weren’t there. But you had been there right beside her.

“Where’s (Y/N)?” she had said.

“I’m right here,” you had said. She had looked around, confused, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. She was going to check around the side of your car, to see if you were there, when one of the others said something particularly interesting, which distracted her.

The group left, and you got in your car to drive home. Checking the mirror, you were confused by what you saw. Or rather, by what you didn’t see: yourself. Weird. After several minutes of staring blankly at the mirror and poking yourself to make sure you were real, you turned on the car and drove home, hoping the darkness of the night would be sufficient to stop people from seeing an empty seat in a moving car.

The next morning, when you woke up, you were visible. Naturally, the first thing you did was stand in front of a mirror attempting to disappear. It didn’t work. Instead, you stood there grunting and making strange faces into the mirror for about an hour before giving up and going about your business. You made a mental note to ask someone about it. Maybe a scientist. Maybe a therapist. Scientist first, you decided. If they thought you were just crazy, then you’d go to a therapist.

You forgot about that mental note for a while, until other people with unique abilities started showing up around Central City. Meta-humans, they were called. Most of them were less than kind, choosing to use their powers for less than legal things. Maybe the therapist was unnecessary. Who could you talk to about it, though? Especially without being able to control it, to show them you were a meta. You’d only gone invisible one time, and you didn’t have any idea how you’d done it.

There weren’t really a lot of scientists to choose from, so you settled on scheduling a meeting with Dr. Harrison Wells, founder and director of STAR Labs. Scheduling the meeting was difficult, entailing a series of Google searches to get his email address, a series of phone calls to get his number when your email was ignored, and a series of mostly one-sided texts between the two of you. Finally, though, he agreed to see you.

You walked into the building and were immediately intimidated. It was large, busy, and packed with people. Not wanting to ask for help, you wandered around aimlessly until someone stopped you. He was wearing a gray lab coat over a shirt and tie. “Can I help you find something?” he asked. Apparently, you looked as lost as you were.

“Um, actually, I’m looking for someone. Do you know where I can find Dr. Wells?”

“Yes, I’m his lab assistant. Henry Hewitt,” he extended a hand, which you shook. He seemed nice. He gestured down the hall, “Follow me. I’ll take you to his office.”

“Thank you,” you gave him a smile and trailed along behind him. The two of you came to a stop outside Harrison Wells’ office, the door sliding open as you approached. Henry gave you a curt nod, gesturing to the door before walking back down the hall. You knocked on the doorframe and waited for a response before coming in.

“Come in,” you heard a somewhat familiar voice say. You did, looking around as you entered the room. He’d won quite a few awards, though you weren’t surprised. He was the most brilliant scientist in Central City.

“Hello, Dr. Wells,” you said, stepping further in, looking at the man.

He wore a suit, without the tie, the top button of his shirt undone, messy black hair resting atop his head. As you entered, he looked up from his work, turning toward you. His gaze bored into you, and you shifted your weight to one foot.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” you said, smiling at him. He didn’t offer anything in the way of conversation, still just staring at you. Your smile fell, “I was hoping you could help me with something. Can we lock the door?” You had been vague in the texts, so he still didn’t know you were a meta. You didn’t want the chance of anyone else knowing. He nodded, pressing a button somewhere on his desk. The door slid shut behind you.

Finally, he spoke, “What do you want?”

You weren’t actually sure. Maybe he could help you figure out how to control it, maybe he could help you reverse it. You didn’t really care. You just wanted something done. “I’m a meta-human…”

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

“I didn’t know who else to tell. You’re easily the smartest person in the city. I thought if anyone could help me, it was you.”

“Hmm. What do you do?”

“I become invisible,” you said.

“Do it.”

“I can’t.”

He raised an eyebrow at you, “You’re telling me you’re a meta-human with cloaking abilities, but you can’t actually do anything? Try.”

You rubbed your hands together and flexed most of the muscles in your body in an attempt to disappear like you had before. A quick glance down to your hands told you it didn’t work. “I can’t,” you repeated.

“Assuming you’re telling the truth, how do you know you can camouflage yourself if you don’t know how to do it?”

“Because I did it once before, when I was with friends at a bar,” you explained.

He scoffed, “Maybe you can only do it when you’re drunk.”

Was he joking? Did he joke? You shook your head, “I wasn’t drunk. I’d barely touched my drink.”

“Right. What was going on around you?”

“Well, I was just sort of sitting there while the others were chatting.”

“And how did you feel?”

“Invisible. Which, as it turns out, I was. Alone, I guess.”

He nodded, “Good.”

You quirked a brow, “Good?”

“Yes. This gives us something to work with.”

You beamed at him, “So you’ll help?”

He nodded again, “Yes. But not for nothing. In exchange for my help, I want yours. I have an idea for something to detect the presence of meta-humans. I’m going use you to test it.”

“Of course,” you replied, “But I don’t want anyone else to know I’m a meta.”

“I can’t guarantee that after the devices are finished, but I won’t tell anyone.”

“Fair enough. Deal,” you reached out to shake his hand, but he didn’t shake. Instead, he stood up and went to the lab section of his office. He pulled out a chair and gestured for you to sit, which you did, then attached electrodes to your head. When that was done, he walked toward the door.

“I have to go do something,” he said, then left the room.

So, you waited there for him to return. He never did. The door opened once, but it was just Henry coming to look for Dr. Wells. You weren’t sure how long you were in there – your phone had died, and you weren’t wearing a watch – but you were bored and starting to feel isolated, lonely. You wanted him to come back. And after a few more minutes, he did.

You couldn’t help smiling at him when he walked in. He went straight for his computer, without acknowledging you. He continued doing whatever he was doing on the computer for several minutes before looking in your general direction, the ghost of a smile gracing his features. You looked down just in time to see yourself reappear.

“I did it,” you grinned at him.

He nodded, “You did it. And now that I know what triggers the change, I can work on something to help you learn to use it.”

“Great! Thank you, Dr. Wells.”

“Sure. Now, for my tests. I’ll need a blood sample,” he said. He went to a cabinet and grabbed a syringe with a needle attached, then came back, “Sleeve. Up.”

You obeyed, rolling up your sleeve, and he grabbed the arm of your chair with one hand, rolling you over to his desk. He pushed aside some of his papers and put your arm on the desk. You kept your arm still and he stuck the needle in it to take a sample. It didn’t feel great, but you stayed still until he was done. He stuck a bandage on your arm and pulled your sleeve back down over it.

“There. Now, you can find your way out. I have your number. I will contact you when I have something.”

“Right, okay. Thank you,” you nodded at him. He ignored you, going to one of the machines. You watched him for a moment before showing yourself out, nearly running into Henry Hewitt on your way.


	2. Time Flies When You're Throwing Watches

You kept your phone on you at all times after the meeting, in case Dr. Wells made progress, but there was no contact for almost a week. Then, a text: “Come to STAR Labs.”

You texted back: “It’s 7pm”

He replied: “I know.”

You sighed, but grabbed your keys and headed to STAR Labs. When you got there, the doors were locked. You texted him: “I’m here. It’s locked”

He didn’t text back, but after a few minutes, he showed up at the door and opened it from the inside. You came in, walking past him sideways to avoid bumping into him. He shut the door behind you and started back toward his lab/office without a word. You followed him. When you reached his lab, the doors opened and the lights came on. He grabbed something from his desk and shoved it into your hand, “Here, put this on.”

It was a digital watch. You raised an eyebrow at him, “I think you need this more than me.”

“Put it on.” You put on the watch, then just looked at him. He walked up to you and grabbed your hand, pulling it to him so he could see the watch. He pressed one of the buttons below the time. You felt different. Sort of lonely, but not really. You looked around, your gaze settling back on Dr. Wells. He was still holding your hand, which you could no longer see.

“Whoa,” you tried lifting your hand to look at – through – it, but he tightened his grip on your hand. You didn’t really mind it. You guessed he did it so he still knew where you were. Maybe it was so he could press the button to make you visible again, because you had no idea how to do that.

He looked through you, smiling softly, “It works. Now, my turn.”

You looked at him, “Can I reappear first?” His other hand ran across the back of yours until it found the buttons. He pressed one of them, and you were back. He released you.

“There.”

“How does it work?” you asked.

“The middle button,” he said, “It will make you disappear or reappear, depending on whether or not you’re visible. It should also prevent you from cloaking yourself accidentally.” He fitted a watch on his own wrist, one that looked much different from yours. It was square and metallic, a little big for a watch. It opened, revealing blue lights. He held it near you, and nothing happened.

“Damn it!” Dr. Wells took the watch off and hurled it at the wall. It hit the wall with a thud and the top snapped off.

“Hey, calm down,” you reached out and gave him a pat on the shoulder. He jerked back and glared at you for a moment. He picked up the now-broken prototype and took it to his desk to work on it. You looked at it, “What was it supposed to do?”

He looked back up, “I told you when I agreed to help. I’m working on something to detect the presence of meta-humans.”

“Clearly, it didn’t work.”

“Clearly,” he snapped, “And clearly, I need to work. Sit down over there. And stop talking.”

You raised your hands defensively and backed up, walking to the chair and sitting down. You watched him work for a while. He put the watch back together, a frown plastered on his face as he added some new parts and grunting angrily when something didn’t work the right way. Bored, you pressed the middle button and went up to the door to see if it would open for you. It did not. You wondered if it was locked, or if it just didn’t recognize that someone was there.

You went over to him and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder. He was still working on it, but it looked like he was just about finished. Suddenly, he turned the chair, accidentally kicking you. You both jumped, and you pressed the button on the watch to reappear. He glared, “What are you doing? I told you to sit over there.”

“Sorry. I wanted to see what you were doing,” you took a step back. He put the watch back on and held it up to you, open. The lights went red, and he shut it, seeming satisfied. “I’m guessing that was what you wanted.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, good. Can I go now?”

“Yes.”

“Bye,” you said, “And thank you.” He grunted in response, so you just let yourself out, looking at your watch. You wondered how he’d done it, but at the same time, you didn’t care. He did what he said he would, and that was good enough. You walked to your car and headed back home to go to bed.

You woke up around 4:00 to the sound of your phone ringing. Dr. Wells was calling you. You picked up the phone, and he spoke before you could say anything, “Come to the door.”

“What?”

“Door. Now,” he hung up. You stumbled toward your front door, and when you opened it you heard a strange beeping noise. It was coming from a smaller, much nicer-looking watch than the one you saw earlier. The watch was attached to a tired-looking Dr. Wells, his hair even messier than usual. He snapped the watch shut, “Good.”

“Have you slept?”

“No,” he said, then turned to leave. You reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket. He looked at you, raising a brow.

“You need to sleep.”

“Can’t.”

You raised your own brow, “And why’s that?”

“I have to work.”

“You own STAR Labs. You’re your own boss. If you want to take a day off, you can.”

“I have things I need to finish.”

You sighed, then pulled back on his arm, forcing him inside and kicking the door shut behind him. You dragged him to your room and let go, “Sleep. I’ll be in the living room if you need me.” He stared at you, and you stood in the doorway to keep him from leaving.

He sighed, then kicked off his shoes and slipped out of his jacket before flopping onto the bed face first, not bothering to get under the blankets. You shook your head at him, a small smile on your face. He was already asleep. Walking to your closet, you grabbed an extra blanket and draped it over his tired form before heading out of the room to nap on the sofa.

When you woke up, you were the one under the blanket. Something smelled strange but good, and looking around, you noticed Dr. Wells was standing in the kitchen. You sat up, stretching before standing up and going to see what he was doing. He was making scrambled eggs and toast. “Morning,” you said, yawning.

“Morning,” he replied, scooping half of the eggs onto a plate with a piece of toast and handing it to you, along with a fork, “Breakfast.”

“Thanks,” you said, taking the plate and sitting at the table. He put the rest on the other plate and sat down across from you to eat. The two of you ate, only the sound of the forks on the plate breaking the silence. When you finished, he took the plate from you and set it in the sink, turning on the water. “I can wash up. You cooked,” you said, “It’s only fair.”

“Okay,” he nodded, turning off the water, “I need to go anyway.” He walked toward the door, pausing and looking back at you before opening it. “Thanks,” he said, then left, shutting the door behind him. You smiled at the spot where he’d been. You had enjoyed his company, even if he was quiet most of the time and rather blunt when he did speak. Not to mention, he was actually kind of handsome.

You wondered how he knew what to do to make your watch. Maybe he’d worked with metas before or something. When you finished washing and drying the dishes, you decided to go find him and ask. You sent him a quick text: “Are you at work?”

He replied almost immediately: “Yes.”

You showered and got ready, then drove to STAR Labs. You made your way straight up to his lab, stepping in when the door opened. He looked up at you, and you gave him a short wave before asking, “Dr. Wells, how do you know so much about meta-humans?”

“What do you mean?”

“It didn’t take you very long to make the watch, and you’re already working on some kind of meta-human detection thing,” you said, “Have you worked with other metas or what?”

“I don’t know what you’re accusing me of, but I think we’re done here.” He sat up straight, glaring at you.

“What? Why are you getting so defensive?”

“Out!” Dr. Wells barked, thrusting a finger to the door. When you didn’t move, he stood up and walked toward you, getting right in your face. You backed up instinctively, having to look up to see him. “Out,” he repeated, glaring at you and pointing to the door again.

“Fine,” you said, backing out of the room and leaving, wondering why he had gotten so defensive when you asked him. Wondering why he had all but shoved you out of his lab. You couldn’t help feeling a little sad. You’d grown quite fond of him in the short time you had spent together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will probably take place a few (8 or so) months later. Also, it will probably be on Earth-1.


End file.
